For a while we have been developing specifications and prototypes for what I have been describing as a “3D free-form mind map” that will allow people to create and modify 3 dimensional representations of their thoughts on particular topics, unconstrained by the intrinsic hierarchical structure of a mind map. Users will be able to move around and fly through the 3D “thoughtscapes” they create, and share them with the world in a variety of formats.

I sometimes use the example of my NewsScape, pictured below, as an example of a concept map that anyone would very quickly and easily be able to create in the app.

Click on the image to see large version

Almost everyone I have described the idea to likes (or even loves) the concept [del] and after a lot of work laying the foundations for the concept, we are now looking for an artist and developer who can work with us to bring the idea to reality.

The detailed descriptions of the roles can be found on our We’re Looking For Talent website:

– 3D Artist/ Designer for 3D mindmapping tool

– Unity iOS developer for 3D mindmapping tool

A few comments on these roles:

* We will initially release this app on iPad, and have chosen Unity as the best platform to realize our vision.

* The artist/ designer role is particularly critical, and I will work closely with the person we choose to help create a stunning look and feel for the app. We are looking for a deep understanding of “concept visualization” and more generally information visualization, which in my experience only rarely appears in 3D portfolios.

* Either role can be done from anywhere in the world, however for the artist role in particular we’d ideally prefer someone in Sydney who we can work closely with, if the right person is available.

* Our resources are constrained, which means we are unlikely to be able to afford as a base pay the usual market rates of the very top 3D talent globally who are used to big game budgets. However we can offer decent pay to attract rising talent, and will also offer a structured profit share (see our team principles) in addition to base pay, which creates at least the potential of exceeding usual market pay rates.

Please do apply if you have the capabilities and this is of interest. Or if you can think of someone who would be perfect, please let them know.

The right people for the project will have a pretty unusual mix of capabilities, including truly thinking in 3D, so we need to tap the networks to see if we can connect with those awesome people out there who can make this concept really fly.

As we describe in our working principles document, the process starts with an interview and tests, after which we offer the most interesting candidates a one-day trial, in most cases offering to pay $250. For those we hire after the trial work, the most common pay structure is hourly rate plus profit share.

So let’s reframe this. If you think you could add value to what we’re doing, and have a day of your time spare, we’d love to pay you $250 for helping us with some project ideas we have.

The first step is to apply, and if you sound special we’ll give you a call and perhaps suggest catching up for an hour to discuss what we’re doing, and ask you to do a task to test your capabilities. If we think you have potential, we will offer you one day’s work, getting started on 1-2 small projects we will give you.

After that day, if we agree you’re totally awesome, we will offer you a role at AHT Group, and we will do what we can to entice you to join us on the terms that work for you, including substantial work flexibility.

Just look at our Genius projects person role for who we’re looking for, and apply here!

NOTE: For those who don’t have substantial relevant experience we have a similar offer for an Admin assistant with amazing digital potential to find juniors with as-yet-undiscovered extraordinary talent.

Do pass this on to people who you think would be interested :-)

Automattic has an idiosyncratic workplace. As a legacy of its open-source roots its 120 employees are spread across 26 countries and six continents. Although most work alone at home, each team–usually made up of five or six people–has a generous budget to travel. “All of the money we save on office space, we blow on travel costs,” Mullenweg laughs. Groups have gathered in Hawaii, Mexico and New Zealand. Once a year everyone meets for a week at an accessible destination with a solid Internet connection. A distributed workforce means Automattic can hire talent from around the world–without having to offer the perks and pay of Google, Facebook and Apple.

This brought a response from Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg:

I’d like to counter the last sentence, which implies this is something we do as a cost saving scheme: being distributed is not a legacy, it’s a conscious choice. The people at Automattic are truly world-class — I invest in and advise a number of startups, and spending time in New York and the San Francisco Bay area I would put the caliber of people inside of Automattic on par or higher than anyone I’ve met from Google, Facebook, Apple, or any of the traditional tech giants.

How do we do it? Automattic offers a benefit above and beyond what they ever could: We give people the perk and the luxury of being part of an internet-changing company from anywhere in the world. This mirrors the meritocracy that makes Open Source great and treats people on the quality of their ideas and their work whether they’re in San Francisco or Argentina. (Or if they started in San Francisco and moved to Argentina.)

Just last week I wrote about how distributed work is driving increased travel, perhaps because of rather than in spite of video-conferencing. I illustrated it with a very similar example to Automattic’s work structure:

A great case study is web-based collaboration software company 37signals, which has development teams in its head office in Chicago, and in LA, Stockholm, and Romania. While the company lives off its clients’ distributed project work, and its company guide Getting Real says that “Meetings Are Toxic“, the company invests in flying all its staff in to Chicago 3 times a year for face-to-face meetings and relationship building.

However the real issue here is Matt’s important message that a truly distributed organization can attract the most talented in the world.

When I was writing Getting Results From Crowds, an earlier working title was Getting the Best. Being able to attract and get the best out of the most talented people in the world is not just possible, but undoubtedly an enormous advantage over companies bound by geography or other constraints.

This is why we have launched We’re Looking For Talent, to provide a platform to attract the best people in the world to work for us, wherever they are.

As Matt says:

You have to be really committed to keep the creative center and soul of the organization on the internet, and not in an office.

Distributed organizations have a potentially massive advantage which we may see play out over coming years.

Every person who has been in a junior role in our business has moved on to project roles, and we’re looking for someone who not only has that potential, but can immediately assist on our ongoing projects.

It is a part-time role, and since we’re based in Surry Hills, students at UTS would find it particularly convenient. However we’re of course open to anyone who is highly talented and enthusiastic and seeks some flexibility in their work.

Read details of the admin assistant role here and be sure to look at our principles on how we work with highly talented people.

The first role we are very actively recruiting for is a genius projects/ marketing/ web/ publishing assistant or manager. The ad says in its capabilities section:

We are looking for people who can point to special talent in at least two of the following:
* Online and offline marketing
* Web project management
* Social media and social media marketing
* Use of crowdsourcing tools and platforms
* Print publishing and paid content on the web
* Creative project management
* Mobile app marketing

As described in our Why Work For Us? overview, for different roles we are either open to global applicants, or prefer people in Sydney. This particular role is Sydney based, working with our core team based out of Surry Hills.

We may be open to exceptional applicants from the rest of the world for related project manager roles, however for now this is a significantly lower priority.

I’ll continue to regularly share on my blog who we are looking for, together with lessons learned as we build out our own crowd business model.